Questioning the regime for aiming to rehabilitate Van Gujjar families outside buffer areas of tiger reserves — Gentleman Jim Tiger Reserve and Rajaji Tiger Reserves — the Uttarakhand tribunal on Thursday same that the “Van Gujjars are a relentless threat to wildlife” which the state government’s proposal to rehabilitate them was “against public policy”.
On the difficulty of rehabilitating the Van Gujjar families WHO, consistent with the regime, should be salaried for being off from the land they occupy within the buffer areas of tiger reserves, the Division Bench of Acting magistrate Rajiv Sharma ANd Justice Lok Pal Singh same in an order, “We ne'er directed the government to border and formulate rehabilitation policy… At the one hand the state says that action shall be taken against the persons WHO have encroached upon the forest land, and within the same breath it's creating the rehabilitation policy to rehabilitate them.”
“The government cannot provide premium on dishonesty,” the judicial writ, that mentioned Van Gujjars as encroachers of forest land, stated. “Rehabilitation policies square measure primarily meant for those persons WHO are displaced by means of required acquisition of their land for public comes or thanks to natural calamities. however is that the regime considering the rehabilitation policy for persons World Health Organization have encroached upon forest land, with exemption, is on the far side our comprehension,” the order same, adding that “meager compensation is paid to Army widows and their members of the family except for persons World Health Organization have encroached upon forest land and are chargeable for depletion of life, there's a proposal for giving them the compensation of Rs ten hundred thousand each”.
While questioning the “ulterior motives” of the individuals framing the rehabilitation policy for the Van Gujjars, the court noted that whereas upto thirteen Van Gujjar families were to be restored out of the corbett Tiger Reserve, the list of families marked for rehabilitation was fifty seven.
This is conjointly serious dereliction of the duty,” the judicial writ expressed, adding that “the list, clear, seems to be ready with oblique and ulterior motive to present the people undue take pleasure in the state exchequer”.